Blade dispensing magazine



Nov. 11, 1952 M. D. BENEDICT, JR., ET AL BLADE DISPENSING MAGAZINE 2SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed July 23, 1948 Patented Nov. 11, 1952 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

BLADE DISPENSING MAGAZINE Michael Douglas Benedict, Jr., Lynn, and MeyerJ. Shnitzler, Brookline, Mass., assignors to The Gillette Company, acorporation of Delaware Application July 23, 1948, Serial No. 40,348

12 Claims.

order that they may arrive in unimpaired condition in the users hands.

The general objects of the present invention are to provide a magazineand blade combination that will insure safety of the blade edge in areliable and effective manner, which may be assembled by automaticmachinery and packed at low cost, which will be convenient formanipulation by the user and which will be so inexpensive in itsconstruction that the magazine may be discarded when the supply ofblades has been exhausted.

In the construction of the present novel magazine, advantage is taken ofthe staggered arrangement of longitudinally-slotted blades which hasalready been found entirely satisfactory by the shaving public. Inaccordance with this system, the blades are partially separated when themagazine is loaded, and this partial separation facilitates the ejectionof the blades one by one by the user by permitting a limited preliminarymovement of the outermost blade of the stack while the blade is stillunder full control in the magazine and while the next underlying bladeis held positively against movement with it.

With these ends in view, an important feature of the invention consistsin a magazine having a spring-metal cover with its ends inturned to actas a spring or springs for controlling the position of the blade stack.By this expedient, we eliminate the necessity of providing a spring asa. separate element of the magazine and razor combination. This objecthas been heretofore attempted by confining the stack of blades under aninitial stress in the magazine, but it has been found that in longperiods of storage such continually stressed blades will eventuallydeform a magazine formed of plastic material. This difficulty is avoidedin the present magazine by confining the blades in substantially flatcondition without appreciable tension except the internal stressdeveloped in the inturned ends of the metal cover.

The inturned ends of the cover not only serve as retaining springs forthe blades but they provide a smooth rolled-edge exit opening for themagazine through which the blades may pass smoothly and with assurancethat their sharp edges will be guided in a path clearing all parts ofthe magazine.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood andappreciated from the following description of a, preferred embodimentthereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of amagazine, drawn on an enlarged scale and showing one blade partiallyejected therefrom;

Fig. 2 is a view in longitudinal section of the magazine shown in Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is a view in cross-section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view in perspectiveof the magazine parts and blades shown inexploded relation;

: and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary View in side elevation of the magazine cover.

The base [0 of the magazine herein shown may be constructed of anysuitable material as by molding from synthetic resins or diecasting fromlight metal. In one very effective form the base is molded oftransparent Lucite. It is rectangular in form and provided with twoupwardly tapering and inwardly inclined side walls I I. At each cornerof the base is provided a projecting lug I2 which extends outwardlybeyond the outer face of the side walls I I and upwardly slightly abovethe top edge of the side walls. As herein shown, the opposite side edgesof the lugs l2 taper upwardly and outwardly at each end of the base.

Each side wall ll of the base is provided in its foot with a rectangularchannel or groove l3. A pair of blade-locating ribs l4 and I5 isdisposed in the main axis of the base l0. These ribs are aligned andspaced apart longitudinally in the base. They have abruptly shoulderedouter edges and inner edges which slope gradually outwardly and upwardlyfrom the face of the base and merge smoothly into the top edge of therib. In width, the ribs l4 and I5 fit with slight clearance thelongitudinal slot in the blades with which they are to be used. At thefoot of each rib the base I0 is provided with a small concave recess.

to insure that there shall be no obstruction that would delay outwardmovement of a blade by catching its solid end as the blade is beingejected.

The magazine includes in its structure a cover I 6 of spring sheetmetal, and this is provided with side walls I! having hooked flanges l8at The material of the cover extends at both endsbeyond the ends of itsside walls I! as best shown in Fig. 5, and is then folded inwardly andextends downwardly in the form of a spring I9, which is normally biasedto contact with the base when the magazine is empty of'blades.Eachturned-in spring portion I9 is provided with a longitudinal slot orcut-out portion 20 which provides ample clearance for the ribs [4 and Iof the base, and the material at the inner end of.

each spring:portion.may, if desired, be formed as:

anupwardly convex transverse bridge 2|, thus providing two transverselyspaced blade-engaging faces in each spring. In any case the spaced endportions of the. two springs 2| engage the top of: the bladestack onopposite sides of the ribs: l4; and I5 and in four separate areas,distributed'so. as to hold the stack flatly against the .bottom -.of themagazine;

The cover; l6. isalso provided'with a, finger or thumb opening 22 whichis centrally andsymmetrically disposed'therein and: providedwith adownturnedrim 23 which thus provides a smooth rolled edge for theopening. In. the assembled magazine thefinger opening- 22 is locatedabove the space between the inner ends ofthe ribs l4 and 15. The springsl9, moreover, are of such length that they clear the outer periphery ofthe flange 23 when they are sprung into their uppermost positionandengage a full stack of blades within the magazine and provide. anextended upwardly. inclined surface above the blade stack leading to theexit-opening;

The magazine is herein shown as constructed and arranged to handledouble-edgedblades of awelleknown commercial. type; that is to sayblades25thaving a median slot 26.and solid elongated. unsharpened endportions 211 defined in part by corner notches in the blade. The medianslot 26? is herein shown as provided with local enlargements shaped tofit the blade-locating projections of razors in which these blades areto. be used. Each blade, moreover, is provided with a pair of arrows 28'indicating the direction in which it should be moved to be ejected fromthe magazine. As herein shown, the blades are arranged in fiat conditionin a stack upon the base H), with alternate blades impaled on the ribM-and on the rib l5, respectively. The blade 25; which is shown aspartially ejectedin Fig. 1 has been impaled'upon the rib M withtheabrupt end shoulder of the rib incontact with the solid end portion21 of the blade at the end of the slot 26; Accordingly, this blade hasbeen positively held against movement toward the left in the magazinebut maybe moved freely toward the right, and as indicated by its arrows28. The user may efiect this movement by engaging the blade through thefinger opening 22 and frictionally urging the blade voutwardly againstthe yielding resistance of one of the springs l.9.. In this preliminarymovement the blade is positively guided by the directing action of therib, M in the slot- 26 of the" blade... "This continues until the solidrear end of the blade encounters the im clined inner edge of the rib 14.When this occurs, the end portion of the blade rides up the incline ofthe rib against the pressure downward of the sprin 19. Finally, in thecontinued movement of the blade the solid end portion 21 passes beyondthe inner end of the spring and 01f the end shoulder of the rib so thatthe blade is suddenly released and is snapped out of the magazinewithout any tendency to transverse displacement that would otherwisebring the edge of the blade into contact with the wall of the magazine.During this movement of the uppermost blade toward the right. the'nextiinderlying blade is held positively against movement toward theright, but as indicated by the arrows thereon, is free for movementtoward the left.

The magazine is provided with an exit opening at either end formed bythe upper end face of the base In and the folded-over end of the cover15 above. it.

Having thus disclosed our invention and described in detail anillustrative embodiment.

therefore, we claim: as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1: A blade-dispensing magazine including in itsstructurie: an elongatedbase of: plastic material having a pair-of aligned blade-locating ribstherein, a. stack of longitudinally. slotted bladesarranged in staggeredrelation on alternate ribs; and. a.cover of" spring sheet metal havingside flanges engaged with the longitudinal. edges of the base and endportions folded inwardly, defining exit openings at bothends of themagazine and: extending inwardly and downwardly thereby. providingsprings engaging the top of the blade stack in separate areasdistributedto hold the stackflatly. againstthe base.

2; A blade-dispensing magazine comprising a rectangular plastic basehaving inwardly tapering side walls with projecting corner lugs togetherwith a detachablercover of spring metal having flanged sides filling thespacebetweenthe corner lugs, interlocking with-lower -edgesof thewallsof the base and held in place at both ends by said corner lugs, thecover and'the base being spaced apart at'both ends ofthe magazine toprovide exit openings and the coverhaving a finger opening therein.

3. A blade-dispensing magazine comprising a rectangular base; havingspaced. blade-locating ribs therein, and a cover of sheet metal engagedat its sides with the base in fixed position thereon and folded inwardlyat both ends in spaced relation above the ends of the base to form asmooth rolled-edge exit opening at each end of the magazine and toprovide an extended upwardly inclined surface leading within themagazine'to said opening.

4. A blade-dispensing magazine of the char.- acterdescribed iniclaim 3,in which the folded-in ends of the cover are of spring material and areextended inwardly and downwardly from both endsof the magazine and thusconstitute springs.

5. A blade-dispensing magazine of thecharacter described ingciaim 4, inwhich the cover is provided with a. finger opening substantiallycoextensive .withthe space between the inner ends.

the form of a hold-down spring, said spring being slotted to bridge oneof said ribs and terminating adjacent to the inner end thereof.

7'. A blade-dispensing magazine comprising a plastic base of rectangularoutline having side walls and corner lugs with opposed oblique edgesprojecting outwardly from the side walls and blade-locating projectionslocated in the bottom of the base, in combination with a sheet metalcover having a finger opening with an inturned peripheral flange, andresilient side walls shaped to fit upon the side walls of the base andhavin oblique end edges contacting those of the corner lugs.

8. A blade-dispensing magazine comprising a plastic base having a flatblade-supporting face and projecting blade-locating ribs, a stack oflongitudinally slotted blades arranged in fiat unstressed condition instaggered relation upon the base and said ribs, and a cover of springsheet metal clipped to the base and having a finger opening and havingits ends folded inwardly and extending downwardly in position to pressthe blades yieldingly against the flat face of the base.

9. A blade-dispensing magazine comprising a plastic base having sidewalls and blade-locating projections, in combination with a sheet metalcover having a flat top and side walls terminating short of the ends ofits top and an inturned spring integral with each end of the top andturned in along a line beyond the ends of the side walls of the cover,each spring extending inwardly beside one of the blade-locatingprojections of the base.

10. A blade dispensing magazine comprising a base portion having a pairof longitudinally spaced blade-locating ribs with outwardly and upwardlyinclined inner edges, a cover having afinger opening, longitudinallyslotted blades arranged in stacked and oppositely staggered relation onsaid ribs within the magazine, and spring means pressing downwardly uponthe uppermost blade of the stack, whereby whilst under spring pressure,the uppermost blade may be engaged by the users finger or thumb andmoved endwise until the rear solid end of the blade reaches the inclinedinner edge of its associated rib whereupon that blade while still underspring pressure may be pulled out of the magazine by drawing its solidend up the said inclined edge.

11. A blade dispensing magazine comprising a base portion having a pairof longitudinally spaced blade-locating ribs rising at their inner endsin smooth continuous slopes from the base and terminating at their outerends in abrupt shoulders, a cover of spring metal, and longitudinallyslotted blades arranged in stacked and oppositely staggered relation onsaid ribs within th magazine, the cover being folded inwardly at bothends and having inwardly and downwardly extending spring portionspassing on opposite sides of sa d ribs into engagement with the bladestack.

12. A blade dispensing magazine as described in claim 11 furthercharacterized in that the base portion has a depression at the foot ofthe inner end of each blade-locating rib.

MICHAEL DOUGLAS BENEDICT, JR., MEYER J'. SHNITZLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

